Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, leaving bassist D. D. Verni and lead vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth as the only constant members. In addition to Verni and Ellsworth, Overkill's current lineup includes Dave Linsk on lead guitar, Derek Tailer on rhythm guitar and Jason Bittner on drums. Along with Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, whose one-time lead guitarist Dan Spitz was also an early member of Overkill, the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal bands, and they are often called "the Motörhead of thrash metal", based on their unique playing style, which was influenced by punk rock and the new wave of British heavy metal. The band has a notable mascot named "Chaly", a skeletal bat with a skull-like face, horns, bony wings and green eyes, who has appeared on most of their album covers.
The Years of Decay is the fourth studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released on October 13, 1989 through Atlantic and Megaforce Records. It is the last Overkill album to feature guitarist Bobby Gustafson, who either left or was fired by the band amid a feud between himself and its founding members Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (vocalist) and D. D. Verni (bassist).
Horrorscope is the fifth studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released on September 3, 1991 through Atlantic and Megaforce Records. It was the first Overkill album to feature the duo of guitarists Merritt Gant and Rob Cannavino, and the last to be released through Megaforce; although they remained on Atlantic until 1995.
Taking Over is the second studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released in March 1987 through Atlantic and Megaforce Records. The album is Overkill's last to feature drummer Rat Skates, who left the band later in 1987 and was replaced by Sid Falck. It was also the first to be released through Atlantic, who would release all of the band's albums up to W.F.O. (1994).
I Hear Black is the sixth studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, released on March 9, 1993 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first to feature drummer Tim Mallare.
W.F.O. is the seventh full-length studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released on July 15, 1994 on Atlantic Records. The album contains "hidden songs" on track 98 the songs start at 10:00, featuring the band warming up in the studio, playing "Heaven and Hell" by Black Sabbath, "The Ripper" by Judas Priest and "Voodoo Child " by Jimi Hendrix. The instrumental song "R.I.P. (Undone)" was written as a tribute to Criss Oliva, co-founder of the band Savatage, who died nine months before the release of the album.
Wrecking Your Neck is a 2-disc live album released by the thrash metal band Overkill in 1995. A March 1995 show, once again in Cleveland, Ohio, was recorded for Overkill's first full-length live album, and was released in April 1995; with the first pressing featuring a bonus CD containing the Overkill EP that had been out of print for ten years. A music video for the song "Bastard Nation" was also released. Wrecking Your Neck is also the last Overkill album to feature guitarists Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant.
The Killing Kind is the eighth studio album released by thrash metal band Overkill in 1996. It was the first album to feature new guitarists Joe Comeau and Sebastian Marino.
Bloodletting is the 11th studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, released on October 24, 2000, by Metal-Is. It is the first after the departure of guitarists Joe Comeau and Sebastian Marino and the addition of Dave Linsk. Bloodletting also marked the first and only time since 1989's The Years of Decay that Overkill had recorded together as a four-piece.
Killbox 13 is the 12th studio album by thrash metal band Overkill in 2003. The name stems from the fact that the band considers this to be their thirteenth release because they include the Overkill EP as their first, or that they had released the covers album Coverkill, which would have been their eleventh studio album. "Well, it is the thirteenth, but it's only really the thirteenth for people who followed the band. There was an EP called Overkill back in '84...", said Bobby Ellsworth.
ReliXIV is the 13th full-length studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, released in spring 2005. The reason the Roman numeral 14 is included in the title is because the band includes the Overkill EP in their lineup of studio albums, which would make this album the 14th by their chronology. It can also be because Overkill released the covers album Coverkill, which would have been their eleventh studio album. While this diction left it unclear how the title was to be pronounced, Blitz just mentioned it as "Relics" when announcing songs from the album on stage. The album produced the popular "Old School", which has been played at every Overkill show since it was first released. As of late 2007, ReliXIV sold over 16,000 copies in the U.S.
Power in Black is the first demo from American thrash metal band Overkill in 1983, although some songs had been recorded previously, such as "The Beast Within". Three of the songs from this demo were re-recorded for Overkill's debut Feel the Fire, while "The Beast Within" and "Death Rider" have never been re-recorded on future albums.
The Rods are an American heavy metal band formed in 1980 by David "Rock" Feinstein, Steven Starmer, and Carl Canedy. After the first two albums, Starmer was replaced by Garry Bordonaro. Feinstein had first come to mainstream attention after playing in Elf with his cousin Ronnie James Dio. The Rods' sound differed considerably from Elf, adopting a more traditional heavy metal sound compared with the blues-rock sound that Elf preferred.
Immortalis is the 14th studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill. It was released in 2007 on Bodog Records. It is a pun of "Immortal15", and was preceded by Killbox 13 and ReliXIV. The album sold over 2,800 copies in its first week of release in the U.S and as of 2009, Immortalis sold over 15,000 copies in the U.S. This was also the first Overkill studio album to include drummer Ron Lipnicki, who joined the band shortly after the release of its predecessor ReliXIV (2005).
Feel the Fire is the debut studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released on October 15, 1985 through Megaforce Records.
Ironbound is the 15th full-length studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, which was released on January 29, 2010 in Europe on Nuclear Blast and in the U.S. on February 9, 2010 on eOne Music. It was their first studio album in more than two years since the release of Immortalis in the fall of 2007, and their first release on their current label Nuclear Blast.
Overkill L.A. or SST Overkill is a hardcore punk/speed metal band started in 1980 in Los Angeles and which recorded two records on SST Records and some tracks on compilations. The band started as Overkill but they were rechristened Overkill L.A. by SST Records when they re-released their albums in the '90's and SST Overkill when they reunited in 2005.
Robert Wayne Gustafson is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the New Jersey-based thrash metal band Overkill from 1982 to his split with the band in 1990. He is currently the guitar player for Vio-lence.
The Electric Age is the 16th studio album by the American thrash metal band Overkill, which was released on March 27, 2012 in the U.S. on eOne Music and in Europe three days later on Nuclear Blast.
The Wings of War is the 19th studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, released on February 22, 2019. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Jason Bittner, making it their first one without Ron Lipnicki since ReliXIV (2005), as he had left Overkill shortly after the release of its predecessor The Grinding Wheel (2017).
